To win in College Baseball you need as least two really good pitchers, a host of good pitchers on your staff, a line-up full of kids who can put the ball in play with at least one or two with real power and a strong defense. Some things you realize about college baseball in the CWS is that hitters are good and hit the ball to all fields with these aluminum bats, solid efforts by pitchers go a long way and all the hits put a lot of pressure on the defense. A ball in play is no sure out.
Tulane could use not just good baseball players but talented athletes who play baseball. I think the program has good enough players, it just needs a few great ones. The type who have great talent that shines. A football player who also plays baseball would be great or a Micah Owings who can play the field, pitch and hit a ton is what we really need. Unfortunately the program is at a point where those great kids are getting drafted and going to the minors instead of coming to Tulane. Thus we get these really good players, but not the truly great ones. It's kinda like being an NBA team that always drafts right in the middle of the draft. Not bad enough to get the really good players but not good enough to not need a great player from the draft.
Seems like both of you come down in the same place, Tulane just needs more players: pitchers and hitters.
It just seems to me that the talent level is just lower now than it was five years ago- let's say pre-Katrina. I doubt Jones forgot how to recruit- and I don't buy any arguments about him lacking fire or nonsensel ike that. Just C-USA is slipping versus the BCS leagues. I bet Rice will slip very soon too- and C-USA will have a bunch of middling baseball powers that go in one year, out the other. They'll never be shut out entirely- the field is huge! to fill so three/four C-USA schools will get it. And every so often one C-USA team will get hot at the right time (like Tulane almost did last year). But the years of systematic success are going to be hard to re-create on Willow Street.
I think the talent level as is, is fine. It's getting those kids who can really make a difference that matters now. TU had Jay Bruce , who's with the Reds and Xavier Paul who's with the Dodgers as recruits who chose MLB over college. There are others who have done the same. That's the kind of talent we need. Right now we're kinda like the Lakers without Kobe Bryant - a good collection of talent that lacks the one main guy. It looks like it needs to be a position player too. We saw what we're capale of when we had Shooter Hunt.
An improved Conf. USA makes it tougher but is good for us. Rice is the real challenege. They just reload every year and we cant beat them at all.
Is C-USA better? I mean, Tulane is worse (and we were a power program in the League's hay-day). They're still sending three teams to the tournament.
There might not be a Billiken bottom feeder- but the same number of teams make the tournamnet, Tulane is clearly weaker and only Rice has the players to really have a chance to do CWS damage
Commenting by HaloScan
